On May 27, the university announced that it’s seeking an injunction from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (OSCJ) to end the ongoing student encampment. But, what does this mean?

Ahead of the injunction hearing scheduled for June 19–20, The Varsity broke down U of T’s injunction request, how this will affect student protesters, and what this means for the encampment in King’s College Circle. 

What is an injunction?

The OSCJ is the largest superior trial court in Canada with the jurisdiction to oversee criminal, civil, and family cases. 

U of T has filed an injunction order — which is used to enforce a legal right to prevent a party from continuing to engage in unlawful activity, especially in violations of property rights — with the OSCJ. In this case, U of T is requesting the court to mandate that the encampment be cleared, immediately and permanently. 

After U of T issued a trespass notice to the protesters on May 24, the university’s lawyers at Lenczner Slaght LLP issued a notice of application on May 27. The notice was made publicly available by the firm and the university on May 28. 

A notice of application is a formal document used to start a legal proceeding that requires a judge’s decision on an issue without the need for a full trial and testimonies from live witnesses. It outlines an applicant’s request for a specific legal remedy or order. 

U of T’s Governing Council has filed a case against more than 13 protesters — including U of T students Abdurraheem Desai, Aviral Dhamija, Erin Mackey, Kalliopé Anvar McCall, Mohammad Yassin, Sait Simsek Murat, and Sara Rasikh. 

Justice Markus Koehnen will be the judge on the case. In April, Koehnen struck down part of Ontario’s Bill 156 — Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act — to allow animal rights activists to get jobs on farms under false pretenses so they could expose cruel conditions inside. In his decision, Koehnen noted that “It is the very fact that certain views lie outside of the general social consensus that makes freedom of expression important to protect.”

Injunction request 

The Governing Council has requested an order from the OSCJ to prohibit individuals from interfering with access to university property and from erecting fences, tents, or an encampment on it.

The council also requested that individuals be prohibited from interfering with the removal of objects or structures, as well as using, entering, or gathering at Front Campus from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am without the university’s consent.

The council has also requested prejudgment and post-judgment interests, which is money added to any damages awarded by the court for the period before and after the judgment is made. In this case, if the OSCJ grants these interests, the respondents — as in, the student protesters — may be liable to pay them to U of T.

The notice also requests an order to authorize the police to arrest and remove people, objects, and structures that violate it.

Injunction criteria

For an injunction order to be granted, a three-part test and a “strong prima facie case” test must be passed. 

The university will need to prove that there is a serious reason to be tried; irreparable harm to the university and its reputation if the injunction wasn’t granted; and a balance of convenience favouring an injunction — meaning that the harm to the university if the injunction wasn’t granted outweighs the harm to the protesters if the injunction was granted.

A “strong prima facie case” test is also applied in the majority of injunction cases in Ontario. Prima facie means “at first glance” or “on its face,” so the test requires the plaintiff — in this case, the Governing Council — to not only prove that there’s a serious issue to be tried but also have sufficient proof to be successful at trial. 

In a motion record provided to the courts on May 29, the Governing Council provided affidavits — which are sworn, written statements verifying that a document is true — from Sandy Welsh, U of T’s vice-provost, students; Ron Saporta, Facilities & Services’ chief operating officer, property & sustainability; Ryan Dow, Campus Safety’s assistant director, community liaison & support team; James Diamond, a U of T alumni and University of Waterloo professor of Jewish Studies; Patricia Houston, interim dean of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine; David Palmer, U of T’s vice-president, advancement. 

U of T students Roey Stav, a third-year student studying biodiversity and conservation biology and Yan Jing (Justin) Chow, a graduate who majored in religion studies also provided affidavits for the court.

The affidavits also enclose “exhibits” that will be used for the Governing Council’s case against the students. The exhibits include Campus Safety and Toronto Police Services reports, emails from those for or against the encampment, photographs of signage around the encampment, and protesters’ social media posts. 

If the court sees the three criteria to be met with sufficient proof and grants an injunction order, the protesters will have to remove any and all structures, tents, and personal items placed or created by them at King’s College Circle and vacate the area within 24 hours. 

The injunction hearing has been scheduled for June 19–20, despite the university’s attempts to clear the encampment prior to Convocation ceremonies which began on June 3.